Donald Trump's lawyers in his hush-money case "are doing him no favors" with their objection strategy, a legal analyst has said.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Tristan Snell—a legal analyst and former New York assistant attorney who helped lead the prosecution against Trump University, which was successfully sued over deceptive and aggressive marketing practices—said that by objecting "to every other piece of evidence" presented in the trial, Trump's lawyers were making "it look like he has something to hide."
The high-profile trial, which is now in its fourth week, is expected to determine whether, as alleged in a criminal indictment, the former president falsified business records over payments facilitated by Michael Cohen, then Trump's lawyer and fixer, to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep an affair secret ahead of the 2016 election.
Prosecutors, led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, say the payments were part of a scheme to stop potentially damaging stories about the Republican from becoming public. Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
On May 6, Trump's lawyers objected to certain evidence being used in the case, including emails from witnesses and those who worked with Trump at the time of the alleged payments. The objections were overruled, and the emails were entered as evidence.
Snell wrote: "Trump's lawyers are doing him no favors by objecting over and over to every other piece of evidence.
"It makes it look like he has something to hide (which he does).
"But Trump is potentially making them object to everything so he FEELS like his attorneys are fighting for him."
In response to a request for comment, a representative for Trump told Newsweek: "Who the hell is Ristan Smell? Never heard of him."
Trump's lawyers are doing him no favors by objecting over and over to every other piece of evidence.
— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) May 6, 2024
It makes it look like he has something to hide (which he does).
But Trump is potentially making them object to everything so he FEELS like his attorneys are fighting for him.
Allison Gill, who hosts the political podcast Mueller, She Wrote, speculated on X about the jury's response to the objections.
"I wonder what the jury might infer from trumps lawyer objecting to every single piece of documentary evidence. If I were a juror, I would probably notice the numerous objections. I imagine that's why defense usually stipulates to evidence ahead of time," she wrote.
I wonder what the jury might infer from trumps lawyer objecting to every single piece of documentary evidence. If I were a juror, I would probably notice the numerous objections. I imagine that’s why defense usually stipulates to evidence ahead of time. https://t.co/kJRmc7tcKR
— Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) May 6, 2024
Elsewhere in the trial, Judge Juan Merchan fined Trump $1,000 Monday for his 10th gag-order violation. Merchan warned the former president that should the violations continue, he would consider imprisoning him.
"The last thing I want to do is put you in jail," Merchan said. "You are the former president of the U.S. and possibly the next."
Trump's trial continues Tuesday and is expected to last for a total of six weeks.
Update 5/7/24, 9:13 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional comment.
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Kate Plummer is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. politics and national affairs, and ... Read more
